Keller goes on mission trip to Detroit

Every 4 years the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, or more commonly known as the ELCA holds a gathering for youth from all over the United States and Caribbean to help rebuild cities in need. In 2015, 30,000 youth went to Detroit to rebuild what many consider a broken city.

Those in attendance from Aurora High School was were juniors Marissa Henderson, Carli Reitz, and Hannah Wilk and freshmen Corinne Henderson and Liz Keller.

Some youth made mosaics in the city, while others pulled weeds, but the Detroit residents were grateful for all the work that was done.

Emily Keller, currently a senior at Aurora, was just one of the 30,000 attendees. But how does one decide to spend a week in what is perceived as one of the most dangerous cities in the country?

“Everyone who had gone in the past had a good time,” Keller said. “I thought

it’d be a good experience.”

The whole trip certainly did prove to be a good experience, as those who attended enjoyed once in a lifetime experiences, such as dancing to live Motown music in Ford Field or participating in the Walk for Water.

“Walk for Water was one of the best parts,” Keller said.

Participants were given water jugs, each with a story attached, and had to walk through an obstacle course that stimulated 1/37 of a typical walk for the average person would take per day to get water in an underdeveloped country. The walk helped to raise awareness for countries without easy access to clean water.

With a convention center full of inflatables, volleyball games, and college representatives there was so much to do that was not related to aiding the city.

Keller’s service day consisted of her and other members of her church helping to clean out a church to help them get ready for a concert. Even a project as simple as that brought about extreme gratitude from the pastor.

Getting to explore the city was also a common pastime on the trip. Keller stayed in the tallest hotel in Detroit, the Renaissance, on the 38th floor and had a view of the Detroit river and the entire city from her window.

The city itself has many bad stereotypes, filthy and crime-ridden. According to Keller, “the people were nicer than I had expected. I thought Detroit was just gonna be some hole, but it wasn’t.”

Throughout the week, all who attended helped to positively impact Detroit in one way or another. As a whole, the gathering collected $500,00 dollars for various causes.

One thing Keller wanted everyone to know about the gathering was the amount of people who genuinely wanted to help better the lives of people in Detroit.

“There were 30,000 Lutheran youth which is insane,” Keller said. Insane enough to make a lasting difference on Detroit and its people.